


Growing Pains

by kathasaurus_rex



Series: Baby Loki [8]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, Peter is a Big Brother, Pets, Science Family, Team as Family, growth spurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 15:18:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13504251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathasaurus_rex/pseuds/kathasaurus_rex
Summary: Loki is growing, and so is his new friend.





	Growing Pains

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh. I'm obsessed with this universe. If you have any ideas about this universe, or requests, just leave me a comment on here, or shoot me a message on Tumblr @kath-uh-rinn <3
> 
> UPDATE (1/13/19): Minor edits and revisions made.

The elevator opened, signalling Loki’s arrival home from spending the afternoon with Peter at the local library. Bruce had been preparing dinner and going through research on his StarkPad when the ding sounded, and he looked up and smiled, eager to hear about Loki’s day.

Only Loki didn’t come into the kitchen - Bruce could hear the boy kicking off his shoes and tossing his bag to the ground, but then the ringing noise of a slammed door echoed through the penthouse. Bruce frowned and moved to rinse off the cutting board, setting it onto the drying rack before moving towards Loki’s closed door.

He knocked gently. “Bug, is everything alright?”

There was the sound of a scuffle and the bang of something dropping to the ground. “I’m fine, Papa!” Loki said. “Don’t come in, please! I’m… changing!”

“Oh really?” Bruce leaned against the wall outside the doorway and crossed his arms against his chest. “Well, when you’re done _changing_ , please open the door so I can see you. I want to hear about your day.”

The door opened a few moments later, Loki’s head peeking out. His dark hair was messy, eyes wide. “Hi Papa!” he said softly. “What’s up?”

Bruce hummed. “It sounds like you’re hiding something, bug. Can you open the door and talk to me, please?”

Loki’s brows furrowed, and he shook his head. “No, thank you.”

“Henry Loki Banner Stark, open the door please,” Bruce said, voice remaining calm and steady. He stood in front of the door and looked his son in the eye, the boy biting his bottom lip. It wasn’t often that Bruce or Tony used Loki’s full name, the name they chose for his “birth certificate,” but Bruce felt it necessary in that instance.

“Papa…” Loki nodded slowly and opened the door.

And in his arms was a small kitten, wet and muddy, and mewling softly. Bruce let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding, relieved. Loki wasn’t hurt, or upset. No, he was just hiding a kitten.

“I found it outside, Papa, in the rain! It was so cold and shivering, a-and it was crying, Papa! So I wrapped it up in my sweater while Peter wasn’t looking and I brought it inside!” Loki said quickly, tears gathering in his eyes. “I couldn’t leave it outside in the cold, Papa, I just _couldn’t_.”

“Oh bug.” Bruce moved to pull the boy into a hug, holding him tight and stroking his hair. “I know, it’s okay. I understand.” The kitten mewled again then, loudly, and he pulled back to look down at it. “Well… let’s get the little one cleaned up, and figure out some way to feed him or her, hm?”

 

///

 

It was a boy. They did some googling and gave the small kitten a warm bath, Loki towelling him dry while Bruce whipped up a milk substitute, since he doubted the kitten was old enough to be weaned from milk. He let Loki feed him, using a small syringe he had brought up from the lab, and then the kitten was purring, curled up on one of Loki’s star shaped pillows from his room, fast asleep.

Loki was laid out across the floor, staring at him. “Papa, is he okay? Is he supposed to be sleeping like that?”

“Yes, bug, he’s alright.” Bruce was reading through an article about kittens on the StarkPad, another page open with supplies they would need. “Just like human babies, kittens sleep a lot.”

“Can he sleep in my bed with me?” Loki questioned eagerly. “We can put up the safety net so he doesn’t fall down, and I’ll try so so hard to roll over while I’m sleeping! I promise, Papa!”

Bruce looked up at his son and smiled. “We’ll see, okay?”

 

///

 

When Bruce checked in on Loki that night before he went to his own bed, the sight made his heart warm. The boy had decided to sleep in his play tent on the floor, tucked beneath his loft. He had been _very_ worried that the kitten would fall down if they slept up in the bed, so he had piled all his blankets and pillows into the tent and fallen asleep there. The kitten was curled up in the space between Loki’s shoulder and neck, and Loki had one hand laid on it, protective.

Bruce closed the door slowly and walked back over to the kitchen to grab his tea. Tony was still in Japan, meetings, and he had no idea how he was going to react when he came home to find their song with a kitten. But what did he expect Bruce to do? Take that poor little creature to an animal shelter? He sighed and headed towards the bedroom, hoping that he would be able to fall asleep easy.

 

///

 

It took another week and a half for Tony to finally come home. He landed out on the balcony at 5:30, just as the sun was beginning to go down over Manhattan. He stepped out of the suit and walked in through the doors, just as Bruce walked out of the kitchen with a fresh cup of tea.

“Took you long enough to get home,” he said, walking over quickly to slam his lips against Tony’s. Tony responded with obvious enthusiasm, moving his hands up to tangle in Bruce’s curls. After a few heavy moments, Bruce pulled away, lips wet. “Bug is gonna be so happy to see you.”

“I miss you both so much,” Tony breathed out, smiling at him. “Where is squirt anyways?”

“In his room, taking a nap. I think he must be about to go through a growth spurt - he’s been achy and grumpy the last couple of days, and sleeping a lot.” Bruce replied, taking Tony’s hand and leading him towards the living room. “All that delayed growth must be catching up to him, I suppose.”

Tony hesitated. “Can I go wake him up, do you think? Will he be pissed off at me?”

“Definitely not. But, Tony… there’s something I gotta tell you first.”

“What?” Tony looked at him, concerned. “Did something happen while I was gone? Did he get hurt?”

Bruce soothed him. “No, nothing like that. Just… you know that our son is kind, and caring, and compassionate?” He took Tony’s hands in his own. “Our boy found a kitten on his way home from the library with Peter. Tiny little thing, only a couple of weeks old, and I couldn’t bear to take it away from him.” Tony’s eyes widened. “So, Loki now has a pet. Is that… okay?”

Tony was thinking. Bruce could practically hear the gears turning and shifting in his lover’s head. “Is it a nice cat?” he grumbled.

“Very sweet. Likes to cuddle. And Loki just… adores him.” Bruce replied as he pushed open the door.

Loki was stretched out across his bed on his back, and the kitten sat happily on his chest, curled up and purring. He was making unhappy noises in his sleep, and looked to be in pain.

Tony pressed up against the side of the loft bed and reached out to brush Loki’s hair away from his face. “Squirt… hey, buddy…”

The boy woke slowly, turning his head until he caught sight of Tony and let out a happy noise. “Daddy! You’re home!” he sat up slowly, picking up the kitten and moving him onto a pillow so he could wrap his arms around Tony. “I missed you so much!” 

Tony carefully pulled him down from the bed and held him close, just breathing him in for a few long moments. “I missed you too, Squirt. I heard you made a new friend while I was gone…”

Loki nodded quickly. “I did, Daddy! His name is Fitzgerald and I love him.” He reached over to carefully scoop up the kitten, and held him close to his chest, rubbing his fingertips over his soft orange fur. “Do you love him, Daddy?”

“Mm, not yet. But we just met, Squirt, and it takes a little bit of time to love someone.” Tony looked down at the kitten and then pressed a kiss to Loki’s cheek. “How about some pizza, hm? For my welcome home dinner?”

Loki perked up at the mention of food. “Can we have Indian instead?”

“Yes, we can. You take after your Papa.” Tony smiled and carefully lowered the boy to the floor, watching as he walked over to the tent and carefully set the kitten inside, on a cloud-shaped pillow. “Let’s go look at the menu, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy!” Loki ran from the room, knowing exactly where the takeout menus were kept.

Tony and Bruce followed out after him, making sure the door was kept open so Fitzgerald could come out if he so pleased.

 

///

 


End file.
